ConocoPhillips pursues reckless exploration in Western Arctic
Alaska's Western Arctic
BLM via Flickr
Company seeks permits for seismic testing and exploratory wells
Oil giant ConocoPhillips today filed applications with the federal Bureau of Land Management for permission to drill four new test wells and conduct seismic studies to search for oil near the company’s massive Willow project in the Western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
If approved, the work could begin during the winter season that runs from Nov. 1 to May 1. In response, The Wilderness Society released the following statement from Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager:
"The proposed oil exploration around the Willow mega-project is reckless in the face of the climate crisis and ongoing concerns from the community of Nuiqsut. Proposed developments like this are exactly why the 2024 Western Arctic Rule should stand, to ensure ongoing protections for Arctic communities, subsistence species and the climate in the face of relentless industrial pressure."
Officially named the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the 23-million-acre Western Arctic is America’s largest tract of public land and was designated by Congress in the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act to be managed for both conservation and energy production.
